Nos. 15-17 are both 18th century houses, listed grade II, one with red and grey brick, the other red brick. Both have old tile roofs. No. 17 is Spice Society and before that was the Chop Suey House. In the 1920-40s it was a Shoe Shop and Shoe Repairer owned by Mr. Coleman. Upon Mr. Coleman’s retirement to London Road, Amersham, the business changed to an Ironmongers and Timber Merchant, owned by Mr. Parry. When Mr. Parry moved his business to Amersham on the Hill, the business changed in style again and after much alteration opened as Chop Suey

No 19 was an antique shop until recently and before that it was Mr D Welch’s butcher shop (see photo below) and was later run by Mr Mayo, who then moved to Chesham Bois. The house is not as old as the sundial suggests – probably late 16th century, but one story is that the 1372 sundial was dug up in the garden by a Mr Wright before it became a butcher’s shop. The other story is that the builder restoring the house made a mistake – he meant to put 1732, but when asked to change it said ’Leave it as it is, it looks better’. Before Mr Welch opened his butcher’s shop, Mary Scott and Edward Scott lived at no. 19 and appear in the censuses between 1861 and 1891. The Scotts were also butchers and their shop was opposite at no. 36 which was open by 1895. It is possible that the Scotts’s shop before then was at no. 19.

Hilda, May and Rose Scott, the daughters of the butcher, in their Sunday best dresses. The boys are thought to be Laurie Haddon and Corrie Ward, whose father George Ward took this photo (PHO9002)

Listen to Gerald Lee talking in 2004 to Diana Goodbody about living in no. 19 as a child in the 1930s and about “The Spike” (the Workhouse)